Bullough embracing Michigan State-Michigan rivalry

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2013, file photo, Michigan State's Max Bullough watches from the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against South Florida in East Lansing, Mich. With a family history at Michigan State that stretches back decades, Bullough can provide a unique perspective on this week's showdown with rival Michigan. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

“He’s always said the same thing, and he’s always been very calm about it,” Max Bullough said. “This is another game. We’ve got to go play and we want to win it, and it means the same thing as every other game does. And I always expected a different answer.”

Now, the younger Bullough can offer his own answer, and like the rest of the Spartans, he isn’t about to downplay Saturday’s clash between No. 24 Michigan State and No. 23 Michigan.

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Perhaps times have changed a bit — it’s easier for fans of both teams to antagonize each other than it was 60 years ago — and Max Bullough learned at an early age that this is no ordinary game.

“I’d go to school and other kids liked Michigan, and we’d start talking back and forth even when we were little,” said Bullough, now a senior linebacker for Michigan State’s top-ranked defense.

“When you’re a kid in middle school, guys are rooting for each of their teams, and in elementary school, I think that’s kind of where it starts to grow, at least it did for me.”

Hank Bullough played for Michigan State during the early 1950s, and Max’s father Shane followed suit in the mid-80s. Two of Max Bullough’s uncles also played for the Spartans.

The family legacy is ongoing. Max’s younger brother Riley is a redshirt freshman this season.

Hank Bullough is well aware of how important this game has become for both Michigan State and Michigan, but there is an air of matter-of-factness in his voice when he talks about his own playing days.

“When I played here, we’d won 28 straight games, so we beat everybody,” Hank Bullough said.

From 1950-67, Michigan State went 13-3-2 against Michigan, but the Wolverines had the upper hand for the next four decades.

In 2001, Michigan State pulled off a 26-24 win in East Lansing when Jeff Smoker threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Duckett on the final play.

Max Bullough was 9 years old at the time.

“I was right here, fifth or whatever row down on the 50-yard line watching,” he said. “That was one of the craziest things ever. I don’t remember going to many games when I was that young, but I remember that one for sure.”

Michigan won the next six games in the series, and after the 2007 meeting, Wolverines running back Mike Hart referred to the Spartans as a little brother.

Spartans coach Mark Dantonio famously warned that “pride comes before the fall” — and Michigan State beat Michigan four straight times after that.

The Wolverines snapped that streak with a 12-10 victory in Ann Arbor last year, and both teams still have Rose Bowl aspirations heading into this weekend.

Michigan State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) leads the nation in total defense, while Michigan (6-1, 2-1) is averaging 42 points per game.

Bullough was selected Big Ten defensive player of the week earlier this month, after he had 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in a 14-0 win over Purdue.

When Michigan State held a news conference Tuesday, each participant brought a slightly different approach when discussing this weekend’s opponent.

Cornerback Darqueze Dennard didn’t even want to say the word “Michigan” — he claimed he didn’t want to “give them acknowledgment.”

Dantonio said he likes Hoke, but added a qualifier: “You guys can print all this: Just because you like somebody in the family doesn’t mean you like the whole family.”

Bullough was last to speak, and he was asked about Dantonio’s role in fanning the flames of this annual matchup.

“I think if you come to a school like Michigan State and you don’t admit that Michigan is our rivalry, if you don’t emphasize it or you don’t point to it and obviously say we want to win that game maybe a little bit more than all the others, then you’re lying to yourself and you’re lying to your team,” Bullough said. “Everyone knows that we’re excited to play this game, and so are they.”